Change
by Norah Rose
Summary: When Castiel's vessel is destroyed, he is forced to take on a new, very different form.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, everyone! I need to start this story with a little explanation. I know that this is easily the weirdest story I've ever posted here. My friends and I constantly joke about what would have happened if Castiel had a female vessel, so I finally wrote it all down. I didn't ever intend on posting this, as the story was a bit of a joke, but I've grown to like it and I think you all might too! It's slow to start, but I've just got to set everything up! Please tell me what you think, even if you hate it.

I wouldn't call this slash, but here's a warning in case you interpret it that way!

And for the record, I don't own this stuff.

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"_Lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones. I will try to fix you."_

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"Damn it, Cas! You are not dying like this!" Dean slammed his fist against the concrete floor as he pressed another towel to Castiel's chest.

The injured angel's breathing was slow and ragged. He winced as pressure was applied to his wounds.

Sam stood several feet away, holding a cell phone up to his ear. "Bobby, it doesn't look good." Bobby spoke for a moment. "No, he can't heal." Sam answered quickly. "The demons, they jumped him, stabbed him with something. His chest it's just… it's gone. No, no, I don't know what they got him with." Sam explained and fell silent, listening to the other man. He then hung up and hurried to help his brother.

"What did he say?" Dean asked, holding another rag to Castiel.

"Stop the bleeding, he didn't know." Sam answered.

"Well, that's really freakin' helpful!" Dean yelled at no one in particular.

Sam looked up in worry. "Dean," He said softly. "He's calling around. I don't know, maybe another hunter will know what to do." He offered.

Dean shook his head and stared at Castiel. "We don't have time for that. Damn it!" He yelled again, suddenly, throwing a bloody rag aside and replacing it.

Castiel's eyes fluttered closed. Dean fought to keep him awake. "Cas!" He shook the angel. There was no response. "Castiel!" He yelled, louder this time. The angel's eyes opened slowly.

Sam found himself looking sadly at his brother as Castiel coughed up blood. Dean chose to ignore this serious sign and continued trying to stop the blood that was still pouring from Castiel's chest.

"You are not dying." He said again desperately. "You hear me, Cas? I promise."

Castiel coughed again and another splatter of blood covered his face. Sam had stopped applying pressure to the angel's wounds. He knew a lost cause when he saw one.

"Dean…" He gently placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. Dean shrugged him off and continued trying to help Castiel.

The angel tried to speak, but couldn't form understandable words. He shifted away from Dean slightly, as if to tell him to stop. Castiel's body shuddered for a moment, before he closed his now dull eyes.

The room that had once been filled with the sounds of Castiel's forced breathing was now silent. Dean stared at the body in front of him in shock. For several moments they sat like this. Dean staring at Castiel's body. Sam staring at his brother in concern.

Dead.

Castiel was dead. It hit both the brothers like an unexpected punch straight to the gut. The angel had been a kind of rock through all of this. He had been unchanging, while everything around them had changed so drastically.

Dean jumped from the ground and walked quickly out the door of the large, empty warehouse. Sam remained alone for a moment before following his brother.

Dean was standing outside, his face turned to the sky and his eyes closed. "Dean…" Sam said, quietly. "Are you… I mean, do you want to talk about this?" He attempted.

"Nothing to talk about, Sammy." Dean muttered in reply. He raised his head to the sky again and for a brief instant, Sam was almost sure he heard a slight "Amen," from his brother, but as soon as the thought entered his mind, he pushed it away.

Dean turned, rubbed his face, and headed back into the warehouse. He slung Castiel's body over his shoulder before Sam knew what was happening. "Those demons will come back. We need to go." Dean explained

Sam felt obligated to help his brother carry the weight of the empty vessel, but he felt sure that Dean would just brush off his assistance, so Sam only held the door out of the warehouse open for his brother.

Outside, Dean gently laid the body in the backseat. His brown, leather jacket was spread on the seat. Sam couldn't decide if this was because he didn't want blood on the Impala, or if it was some kind of twisted sign of affection.

Once Sam was in the passenger's seat, Dean cranked up the music and drove away without a word. His hands were gripped so tightly on the steering wheel that they had the knuckles were turning white. He constantly glanced in the mirror at the back seat.

Back at the motel, Dean once again carried the body alone and into their room. He laid it on one of the two small beds. Sam had to bite his lip so not to protest. Someone was supposed to sleep on that bed.

When Dean took a seat on the opposite bed, Sam finally spoke up. "Listen, man. I don't want to sound harsh. I mean, I'm not trying to, but we need to… bury him"

Dean glared at Sam. "We'll figure it out, okay, Sammy?" He snapped and stood up. "I'm going out." He mumbled as he grabbed the car keys.

Sam stood motionless for a moment before lying back on the empty bed. It had been a long day. He tried desperately not to think about the body in the other bed, but sleep came easier than expected. As soon as he had closed his eyes, Sam Winchester fell asleep.

Several hours went by before Sam jumped up, awake. He had felt someone watching him and sure enough, a woman was standing over the bed. Sam leaped towards the gun propped in the corner of the room and aimed it at the visitor.

"Who are you?" He demanded, flipping his hair out of his face.

The woman caught his stare and seemed to sway on her feet. The blood rushed from her face and she instantly became very pale.

"Castiel." She said, just before falling unconscious.

Sam rushed to catch her, forgetting about the gun and the fact that he had no idea who or what this person was.

She was out cold and clearly no danger like this, so Sam put her gently on the empty bed. As Sam looked at both beds of the motel room, he resisted the ridiculous urge to laugh.

This day couldn't get much weirder.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, so Dean might get a little out of character near the end. I'm sorry! I need a Dean and Castiel hug. Not want… NEED. Please comment if you enjoy! Also, it is so weird writing "her" and "she" about Castiel. :P

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_"I'm hoping you will never change. Don't ever change."_

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Now that the girl was no danger, Sam took a closer look at her. The first thing he had noticed upon seeing her was her eyes. They were a clear blue that he found strangely familiar. Her dark, shoulder-length hair framed her face and was stick-straight. She seemed to be quite tall, just shorter than Dean. She was wearing a huge grey shirt, which seemed to envelop her thin body. The shirt came down to her knees and appeared to be acting as a dress.

She was extremely beautiful, despite the stony expression on her face.

Sam found himself smiling slightly when he imagined Dean's reaction to finding him in the room with a bloody body on one bed and a lovely, yet very unconscious mystery girl on the other.

His thoughts wandered to the one word the girl had said. Castiel. Could the angel have gotten a new vessel? No, that couldn't be it. Castiel was a male. But angels had no gender. No. If Castiel was going to come back, he would come back as just that, a he.

Sam kept a close eye on the woman as he worked through his thoughts. Finally, he decided just to call his brother. As reckless as Dean could be, he always found an answer for every problem.

Minutes after the call, Dean burst through the door of the small room. His mouth dropped in shock as he looked at the girl on the bed. He ran one hand over his face in an act of exasperation and took a seat in one of the small, wooden chairs in the corner.

"Well, who is she?" He finally asked.

"I'm not sure." Sam answered, also staring at the girl in confusion. "I've done all the tests. She's not a demon. She's not anything monster-related from what I can tell."

"Have you tried waking her up and asking her anything?"

Sam shook his head. "I, uh, wanted to wait for you." He said quietly.

Dean stood up slowly and walked to stand over the girl. "Let's do it then…" He gently shook her small arm.

"Hey, uh, you… girl, wake up." He said awkwardly.

Sam stifled a laugh. "Real smooth, man," He joked.

"Shut up and grab a gun, Sammy!" Dean snapped in a voice that wasn't completely serious. Still, Sam picked up a gun without another word.

Suddenly, the girl's eyes snapped open. Despite being down for several hours, she looked bright and wide awake.

"Hello, Dean." She said with her face blank of emotion. "Sam," She nodded in the younger Winchester's direction.

Dean raised an eyebrow. "Hello to you." He said, giving his most charming smile.

Sam stared at his brother in utter disgust. For all they knew, this girl was sent to kill them and drag them both to hell, but here Dean was flirting with her.

The girl looked down at her body and frowned slightly. She then looked at the body of Jimmy Novak on the other bed and a realization seemed to dawn on her.

"This is very interesting." She said, tilting her head to the side.

Sam and Dean looked at each other for a moment. They were speechless.

Finally Sam spoke up. "I'm sorry, but, uh, who exactly are you?" He asked politely.

"Castiel," The girl answered simply, as if this was a known fact.

Dean seemed as if he was trying to speak, but he couldn't find words. Sam spoke for him. "Prove it." He said, the polite tone leaving his voice.

"I am an angel of the lord. I rescued Dean from perdition. I believe Dean refers to the three of us as Team Free Will?" She said, trying to get all the facts right.

Sam nodded. He was convinced enough. In an instant, Dean had snapped out of his trance and was hugging the girl that was Castiel tightly. Sam's jaw literally dropped. And as soon as the unexpected hug had begun, it was over.

Dean stepped away from Castiel quickly and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Let's just… uh… Sorry. I was, you know, worried." He attempted to explain himself but finally gave up and just looked at the ground.

The angel's eyes were wide and she seemed nearly as shocked as Sam, who still couldn't react. Finally she stood slowly from the bed and avoided Dean's eyes.

"Sam," She turned to face the younger man. "I am sorry for passing out at such a cryptic moment." "Yeah, that's fine." Sam mumbled in response. Only Castiel would think to apologize for passing out.

Dean seemed to be growing frustrated as he watched the two. "Can we please address this?" He nearly shouted as he motioned towards Castiel.

Castiel did the classic head tilt. "Address what?"

"Gee, Nancy Drew, I wonder, hey, maybe the fact that you're a girl now!" He snapped. "I'm sorry." He quickly added, lowering his voice. "This day it's just been…"

"Weird," Sam finished for him.

"What I'm trying to ask, is how the hell are you alive?" Dean said. "I carried your body, or, I don't know, Jimmy's body, out of that warehouse. How are you here? Who are you inside?" Dean chuckled slightly, taking his own words out of context.

Castiel frowned and ignored Dean's laughter. She peered curiously at Jimmy Novak's body and walked to investigate it.

"God has brought me back before. Perhaps he has done it again. As for why I'm in this vessel, I do not know. I can not feel another presence here. Whoever this girl was, she can not tell I'm here. My guess is that she was barely alive, as Jimmy was, when I took her." Castiel explained calmly.

"Listen, Cas. I'm not complaining. Hell, I like this new vessel, but last I remember… you were a guy." Dean said. Sam scoffed at his brother admitting to "liking" the new vessel.

Castiel seemed to smirk slightly. "Actually, Dean. Angels have no true gender. I am neither male nor female. Although, currently, I do appear strikingly female."

"Yeah, you do." Dean interrupted, laughing.

"Dean…" Sam said, shaking his head.

Castiel looked down at her body. "I do not understand why you would prefer this vessel." She said in genuine confusion.

Dean held back laughter. "You're hot, Cas!" He said.

"And now… this is officially the weirdest day. Ever." Sam said to himself.

Castiel's eyes grew wide in alarm. "I would like my old vessel back." She said, looking at the body on the bed.

"I'm sorry, Cas, but that vessel looks pretty shot. Besides, there must have been some reason for God to send you in this new vessel." Sam said.

"I doubt God had any say in my vessel." Castiel said, almost sadly.

"Maybe God wanted to give me some eye candy." Dean said, looking the angel over.

Castiel turned, her face dark, and glared at him. "Are you always this way around members of the opposite sex?" She asked in a serious tone.

"He has a disease." Sam offered, with a smile.

"Bitch…" Dean mumbled to Sam. "So Cas is a chick… what now?" He said, trying desperately to change the subject.

Sam shrugged. "What can we do? We move on, I guess."

Castiel spoke up. "This is no serious issue. We will carry on as though it never happened." Then, without warning, the girl placed her hand on Jimmy Novak's forehead and disappeared.

"Are you kidding me?" Dean yelled at the place where the angel had been standing.


	3. Chapter 3

**RECAP: Castiel died. Dean was sad. Castiel came back in a pretty girl vessel. Dean was happy. Castiel disappeared randomly. She does that, even as a chick.**

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The bed where Jimmy's body had been was now clean and properly made up. The blood stains were gone and the bed looked exactly as it had when they had first gotten the motel room. There was no sign of any disturbance.

"What the hell?" Dean turned to Sam. The younger Winchester only shook his head. "He… I mean, she… will come back, I guess." Sam replied.

"Well, when Cas gets back, we've gotta get her some new clothes." Dean said.

Sam looked at him in shock. "Seriously, man? You're worried about clothes right now?

Dean looked slightly guilty. "Well… We don't need any extra attention. And that outfit is…"

"I'm kidding, Dean." Sam interrupted. "Just don't make me go when you and your angel go shopping. I don't like being the third wheel."

"Dude!" Dean said, looking slightly disgusted.

"You did say you liked that vessel…" Sam said.

"Yeah, well, unlike you, I'm straight." Dean said defensively.

Sam was just amused at how riled up his brother could get over one comment. He didn't reply.

Dean grabbed his cell phone and called Bobby. He needed to be told about Castiel's… condition. Sam flipped open his laptop. He planned on looking up possible cases, but he ended up searching for information on angels and their vessels until Dean was off the phone.

After Dean had cleared, or tried to clear, everything up to a very confused Bobby and Sam had closed his laptop, the two were ready to actually get some sleep. Castiel still hadn't shown back up, but this disappearing act was something that the Winchesters had grown used to.

"Dibs on not sleeping on the dead guy bed!" Dean called quickly, leaping onto the bed where an unconscious Castiel had been earlier.

Sam groaned, but knew arguing was a waste of time. Dean had already won this.

"Look on the bright side, Sammy. At least Cas cleaned up!" Dean called cheerfully, getting up to brush his teeth.

Sam shook his head, rolled his eyes, and closely examined the bed that he was being forced to sleep in. After staring for a minute and deciding it was clear, he sighed and sat back on the bed. "Looks good enough,"

Dean came out of the bathroom laughing and jumped into his bed. Sam eyed his own bed, but ultimately laid back and closed his eyes.

Once the lamp was turned off, both brothers were almost instantly asleep.

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The next morning, Dean woke up to find a girl sitting in a desk chair beside his bed, staring at him. It took a moment for him to clearly remember the events of the previous day.

"Hot girl or not, Cas, it's still creepy when you do that." Dean sat up and looked at the bed next to him. "Where's Sam?"

Castiel glanced at the bed. "I believe he said something about tacos… and he told me to mention shopping to you. He did not explain why."

Dean climbed slowly out of bed. He was wearing only boxers and he suddenly felt very awkward with Castiel's eyes fixed on him. Dean hurried to grab clothes and rush into the bathroom. When he was changed, he opened the door to see Castiel staring at her own reflection in the full-length mirror that hung on the far wall. Dean could have sworn she looked sad.

"Something wrong, Cas?" He said, when her eyes remained fixed on the mirror.

"I had grown so accustomed to Jimmy Novak's image. I was fond of that vessel." She continued to stare at her reflection.

Dean searched for the right words to say. "Well, this new vessel isn't bad, Cas. In fact, I personally like it more than the last one." Dean stifled a laugh as he continued. Castiel didn't notice this. "It's different, but I'm sure you'll grow, uh, accustomed to it too. Hell, maybe you'll even like it." Dean finished.

Castiel finally tore her eyes away from the mirror. "Thank you, Dean." She walked away from the mirror until she was mere inches from Dean. "You are handling this situation well." She said.

Dean could feel her breath on his skin. "Cas, we've… uh, we've talked about this…" He didn't back away though. Her blue eyes seemed to hold him in place.

"Oh, yes." Castiel quickly stepped away from Dean. "Personal space. My apologies."

Dean exhaled and cleared his throat. A short "Yeah," was all he could manage. The inevitable attraction he felt for this vessel was going to be a major inconvenience.

Dean shook his head clear of these thoughts and remembered what Castiel had said earlier. "So shopping, you up for a trip, Cas?" Dean grabbed the Impala keys and opened the door.

Castiel looked extremely confused, but she followed him out the door. Once in the car, Castiel finally questioned their trip.

"Why are we going shopping?" She asked, tilting her head slightly to one side.

Dean gestured at the angel's clothes. "That crap you're wearing…" He said.

"What's wrong with these clothes?" Castiel said, looking down at herself.

Dean made a face that was supposed to imply disgust. "They're huge, Cas. It's like you're all clothes. You're going to attract weird attention walking around like that."

"Different clothes will not attract attention?" She asked.

With one glance at Castiel, Dean knew he couldn't lie. A girl that beautiful could hardly walk down the street without being hit on. "Oh, you'll attract attention."

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**COMING UP: Dean and Castiel go shopping. Cas gets hit on. Dean feels strangely protective…**

Please leave me comments. Your feedback absolutely influences me, so tell me what you think!**  
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	4. Chapter 4

**RECAP: Dean and Sam slept. Sam ditched. Dean decided to take Castiel shopping. She needed "more normal" clothes.**

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In the Impala, Dean turned up the music and tried to avoid looking at the girl in the passenger's seat. This new vessel was going to take a long time to get used to. On their way into town, Dean had noticed several small stores on the main street and he figured at least one of them would have some decent clothes for Cas. He pulled to a stop in front of the first store.

"Let's just make this quick," Dean muttered with a sigh as he walked in the door and was hit with the sight of bright, floral clothes. Castiel followed him silently, taking in all the colors.

A young, attractive man greeted them brightly. "Can I help you… with anything?" He asked, his eyes remaining fixed on Castiel.

Dean rolled his eyes. "We're good," He said, steering the angel toward the other side of the store.

"If you need any help, just let me know!" The man called from behind them.

Dean muttered inaudible insults under his breath and began flipping through racks of clothes. "God, I have no idea what I'm doing. A little help, Cas?" He asked, holding up a shirt and looking at it in confusion.

Castiel shrugged and pulled several items of clothing off the racks. She held them up to Dean. "These look suitable."

Dean took a look at the clothes in her hand. They were all incredibly bland. A tan collared shirt. A black t-shirt. Dark pants. A long, grey coat.

"Jesus, Cas. You're worse at this than I am. I'm calling Sammy." Dean flipped open his phone. "Damn," He muttered. "No service… I'll go outside and call. You." He pointed at Castiel. "Stay here. Don't move." He lowered his voice. "And don't you dare go disappearing."

Castiel nodded slightly and Dean hurried out to call his brother.

"Sammy, hey," He said once Sam had answered.

"Dean… Aren't you supposed to be dressing up your angel?" Sam replied.

Dean looked at the sky in frustration. "Just listen, man. I can't put together anything. I need some help with this. Get over here, will you?"

Sam paused for a moment before speaking. "Dean, what makes you think that I'd be any better at picking out woman's clothing than you?"

"Dude!" Dean yelled at his phone. "You're basically a woman. We're on Main Street. Come on!"

Sam laughed. "Basically a woman?"

"I don't know… the hair," Dean mumbled.

"I'm a damn good brother." Sam said, hanging up the phone.

Dean slipped his phone into his pocket and headed back into the store. As he stepped in, he was hit with a surprising site.

The man, who had previously been hitting on the angel, was not lying on the ground at her feet holding his face. Blood was seeping through his hands. His nose appeared to be broken. Castiel was standing over him wearing a bright, yellow sundress.

"Holy shit," He said. "Cas, what did you do?"

"She freakin' punched me, that's what happened! I didn't even… She's just insane. I'm going to…"

"Hey, you, shut the hell up before I make you." Dean snapped at the man.

The man seemed to slink into the ground. He didn't speak.

Castiel finally spoke. "He placed his hands on me. I thought he was a demon. I reacted." She said shortly.

"A demon?" The injured man yelled. "What the hell?"

"Figuratively speaking…" Dean mumbled to silence him.

"Cas, how about we, uh, talk about this somewhere else? Okay, come on. We'll just…" Dean grabbed a handful of dark t-shirts and several pairs of jeans. He laid a generous amount of money next to the store clerk and led Castiel towards the door. "We'll go," He finished, pushing the angel out the door and following her.

Back in the Impala, Dean made a quick call to Sam, explaining everything and then turned to questioning Castiel. "Alright, tell me what happened…" He said.

Castiel, who was still wearing the dress, answered honestly. "He approached me with an article of clothing and asked me to try it on. I protested but he continued to talk so I changed in a small room he directed me to. Afterwards, he began talking about how beautiful I looked." Castiel looked out the window uncomfortably.

Dean waited for her to continue but when she didn't, he pressed on. "You hit the guy because he said you looked beautiful?"

"I hit him because he attempted to kiss me." Castiel said blankly.

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Oh." He said, looking over at the angel. She did look good in that dress. He shook his head and tried to erase any thoughts of Castiel's current vessel.

"I am sorry to cause inconvenience to you." She said after Dean didn't reply.

"No, Cas. It's okay. It's good you punched him. I mean, he wasn't a demon, but hell, he deserved that. Freakin' perv…" He muttered.

Dean found himself again thinking again of how Castiel looked in the sundress. _Who's the perv now?_ He thought, smiling slightly.

"Any man that tries to make sexual advances towards me should be attacked?" She asked, interrupting his thoughts and tilting her head to the side. "Is that a normal response?"

Dean found himself laughing at how ignorant Castiel could be. "No, Cas… It's not. Don't… Well, don't punch any guy who does that. Just the ones you don't want touching you."

"I don't want any of them touching me." She said darkly.

"Then punch all of them." Dean said, grinning and reaching to crank up the music. He couldn't help but feel pleased. The thought of Castiel with random men was particularly disturbing.

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**COMING UP: Gabriel.**


	5. Chapter 5

On the way back to the motel, Dean called Sam and told him what had happened at the store. Sam laughed and made several snide comments about how Dean needs to "protect what's his". Dean rolled his eyes and gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"Listen when you get back here, there's something we should talk about." Sam said. Dean immediately sat up in his seat.

"Something wrong, Sammy?" He asked, trying to keep calm.

"No, no…" Sam reassured quickly. He heard the distress in his brother's voice. "I've just found a possible case."

Dean breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, we'll talk about it." He said and hung up the phone.

Castiel sat stiffly in the passenger's seat. She had noticed Dean's reaction too. "Are you…" She started, but Dean quickly interrupted her.

"I'm fine, Cas." He mumbled.

Castiel surveyed the man before nodding slightly and accepting his answer. She had realized that Dean rarely talked about things. He hardly shared his feelings and that was alright. Castiel felt as though she was terrible with feelings anyway. It was one of the reasons the angel enjoyed Dean's company so much. She never had to try as hard around him.

The car ride lapsed into a comfortable quiet until Dean pulled up to the motel. He hurried out and into the room. Castiel came in behind him and closed the door.

Sam was sitting on one of the beds, his laptop in hand. He looked up at their entrance. His eyes caught at Castiel's sundress. Dean eyed his brother sharply as he continued to stare at the angel.

"Sam," Dean said unnecessarily loudly after a moment of his brother's eyes remaining fixed.

Sam immediately ripped his eyes from Castiel. "Yeah, yeah… Sorry." He mumbled awkwardly.

Castiel looked at both Winchesters. She was completely oblivious as to what had just happened.

"You have a case you wanted to talk about?" Dean asked, trying to reduce the awkward feeling that hung in the air.

Sam cleared his throat and looked back to his laptop. "I have something interesting." He said, turning the screen towards Dean.

Dean leaned in and looked over the webpage. "Okay, so a teacher dropped over dead during class. It sucks, yeah, but how is this at all interesting?" He sounded doubtful.

"Well, according to the autopsy, this woman died of a gunshot wound, yet she had no wound where the bullet entered. And here's the really interesting part… she was teaching a lesson of weapons of the Civil War when she died." Sam said, sounding proud.

"Weird coincidence?" Dean offered.

"It might have been, but last week a businessman died while giving a presentation on global warming. He literally fried to death in front of his audience."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Okay, not coincidence…"

"There have been more too. At least 5 from what I can find." Sam said quickly, again turning the screen to his brother.

Dean rubbed a hand over his mouth. "So, what are we dealing with here?"

"That's the problem," Sam said, closing his laptop and setting is on the table next to him. "I can't find anything that could… or would do this kind of thing. In fact, the only name that comes to mind…"

"Gabriel," Castiel mumbled quietly to herself. Dean and Sam glanced towards her. "This is the work of Gabriel." She repeated, louder.

Sam nodded in agreement. "Whoa, whoa, whoa…" Dean said, holding a hand up. "Gabriel is dead. Lucifer killed him. Are you telling me he's back?"

"I'm back," Castiel said, as if this answered his question.

Sam shrugged towards Dean. "Maybe God is helping us out here."

"Yeah, well, how many times has God helped us in the past?" Dean asked sarcastically "His track record isn't great."

Castiel tensed. "God helped more than you will ever know, Dean. We are all still here. Still alive. We should be thankful."

"You might be right." Dean said. "But, if this is Gabriel, he's just back to killing people for entertainment. We can't let him keep that up."

"I don't know, Dean. We do kind of owe him. I mean, he died for us. And he's not killing good people, right? Maybe… maybe we just leave this alone." Sam said.

"Geez, Sammy. You got a thing for Gabriel or something? These are people. We don't let people get killed, not if we can help it." Dean responded sharply.

Sam turned slightly red. "Dude, just because you've got a thing for an angel, doesn't mean we all do." He said, looking at Castiel.

"I do not…" Dean muttered under his breath, also turning red.

"Just think of everything Gabriel's done for us." Sam spoke again in the archangel's defense.

Dean raised his hands dramatically. "I don't know if it's slipped your mind, but he killed me… over and over and over."

Sam's face darkened and for a moment he was lost in despairing memories. "Trust me, man, I remember. You're right. I know. We can't let this slide. Sometimes though, I really wish we could just take a break."

"I know, Sammy. So do I." Dean answered honestly.

Castiel stood rooted next to Dean. She hadn't spoken through the entire argument.

Sam stood and grabbed his coat. "Listen, I'm starving. I'm going to run to a burger place. Dean, you want something?"

"Of course!" Dean said with a grin. "The usual. Just get me something greasy. And see if they have pie!"

The younger Winchester rolled his eyes as he left the room. Dean and Castiel were now alone.

"What angel do you have a 'thing' for?" Castiel finally asked, breaking the silence.

Dean's eyes widened. "Come on, Cas. I know you're clueless and naïve, but you can't be serious."

Castiel didn't reply. She only stared back at him blankly.

Dean rubbed a hand over his face. "Sam thinks… I guess he just, uh, he likes to say that I've got a thing for, uhm, you…" He spoke awkwardly, hoping that the angel wouldn't question him further.

"A thing? Feelings?" Castiel asked, immediately showing Dean that he couldn't get out of this conversation.

"Yeah, that." Dean said, coughing slightly through his words.

"This vessel is sexually attractive." Castiel said, without skipping a beat. "You are a male attracted to females, correct? This female vessel is pleasing to you."

"God, Cas… This conversation is over." Dean walked into the bathroom quickly. It was his only escape.

Although, Castiel had said was completely true. Dean did like pretty women and hell, Castiel's vessel was in a whole other league than most. Dean and Cas had always gotten along well. Castiel had been there for Dean more than anyone in the world, even Sammy. Cas was stable and dependable. She would always be there. Dean finally caught control of his thoughts.

"What am I getting myself into?" He muttered, splashing water on his face from the sink.


End file.
